Chicken Wellington

Most of us are familiar with Beef Wellington, that decadent but delicious British dish of tenderloin encased in a golden brown puff pastry.  I've made it before, and I'll probably blog it someday, but usually when I get my hands on a whole beef tenderloin I can't help but cutting it up into thick steaks and grilling it to rare perfection.  But guess what, there's no reason you can't "Wellington" other things--chicken, for instance.  You get the savory deliciousness of all that puff pastry and fixin's, without the expense of the tenderloin.

I also like how this recipe makes individually-sized Wellingtons, as opposed to a whole tenderloin sized one that you slice and serve.  With this method, each diner gets more puff pastry, and that's really the whole point, isn't it?  I think I might apply this method to Beef Wellington as well in the future.

Note, in the recipe below, I'm only making two Wellingtons, so if you want more, just double or triple or whatever to your heart's content.


Chicken Wellington

1 Large Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, Cut in Half Lengthwise
1 Large Yellow Onion, Diced
3 Tablespoons Butter
3 Oz Mushrooms, Diced
1 Teaspoon Fresh Thyme
1/4 Cup White Wine
2 Oz Gorgonzola or other Blue Cheese
1 Sheet Puff Pastry, Thawed and Rolled out about 10 inches square and divided in half
1 Egg, Beaten

Dice your onion

 And the mushrooms

Melt the butter in a skillet and sauté the onions and mushrooms until they are soft and starting to turn golden.

Add the Thyme and simmer for a minute or two.

Add the white wine and simmer until liquid is reduced and absorbed.  Reserve mushroom/onion mixture.

Slice your chicken breasts in half lengthwise and then sauté them until they are golden brown on the outside but still raw within--probably about 2 to 3 minutes a side.

While this is happening, crumble your gorgonzola

and roll out the puff pastry.

Until it is about ten inches square and then split it in two down the middle.

Add half the mushroom/onion mixture to the middle of one of the puff pastry sheets.

Then add half the cheese crumbles

Then place one of the chicken pieces on top

Whisk the egg until the yolk and white are mixed.

Brush the edge of the puff pastry sheet with the egg mixture.

Grab a corner of the pastry sheet and fold it inward.  Brush that edge with egg wash and then fold the other corner in.  Things should look like the photo below at this point.

Repeat process with the other side.  Should look like this now.

Brush with more egg wash and then fold the side flaps in and seal.  Looks like this now.

Flip over and place the 'Wellington' on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.  Make the other Wellington(s).

If you want, reserve a little puff pastry dough and cut out some decorative shapes to place on the Wellington, like these leaf shapes for instance.

Brush the entirety of the Wellingtons with the egg wash

and bake for around 30 minutes at 400˚F.

Pull out the Wellingtons when they are golden brown--the chicken should have finished cooking perfectly inside.  Check it with a thermometer if you like.  145-155˚F should be proper.

Serve them while they're hot.  Oh, and these baby's are great with a sauce.  We recommend a nice Bearnaise Sauce.

Until Next time,



Don't be chicken, try this Wellington!


Chris